Rat Finks and Roller Girls 2008

Before we were so rudely interrupted by my layoff, moving out of my apartment and the holidays I had other topics I wanted to share.


It's time for the Mooneyes Party 2008 at the Irwindale Speedway!

If you remember a few months ago, I had knocked out the new Trixie design, and Ilene was going to debut it at the show.

I could not wait to see how it came out, and arriving at the Roth booth, I saw her - there she was in all here amped-up glory.
Ileen was jazzed, as was I. Trixie came out just great, and she sold like hot cakes. If she sold like tee shirts, we might have done even better.

Next door, Coop and Jimmy C were whaling away on stuff.

Jimmy's SEMA car was there, and, man, did it look awesome.

Right down to the custom-painted dash.

Jimmy also had a few more new cans for sale. They should put Jimmy in a cage.

Later, I was snagged by my old pal Spoony. He had a ton of his artwork of coolness - and I'm not talking tattoos!

I had not seen Gene Winfield since the Oakland Roadster Show, and he told me then that he had a book coming out. And what do you know, there it was.

I got a copy and Gene signed it for me.

He's one of the greats.
I sat and did a few pieces, including this Sharpied-out skate board deck.

This stuff is a ton of fun and quick to knock out.

My film director buddy Dave Mickey Evans dropped by to see Ilene and me. Dave and I working on "The Final Season," and Ilene is a fan of the picture.

Then I had a great time walking around with Dave and showing him the cool rides. First stop, the nostalgia dragsters.

I grew up with these rails as a kid at PBIR in Florida.

And I just think they're the coolest even now.

My Rat Fink artist buddy Jeff De Grandis is building one.

I hope to get a chance to take it for a spin some day soon.

Till then, I will just walk the pits and soak up the nitro.

There were all kinds of great old-school rides.

Chrome firewall anyone?
Two motors for the price of one.

I'm a big fan of scallops, and this truck really had it going on.

And I love this Barris-inspired bike hauler, too.

You know me and trikes, and all I could see was Herman Munster blasting out of the parking lot on this bomb.

I think this heap was my favorite of the show. What a nice ride. Good old basic black.

Mr. Cooper even found a ride he could get behind.

I love this rat rod trend, and have always supported it. The crummier the better.

Less and low. You got to dig it, man.

And than there's this little honey.

And these little honeys, too

The day sailed by, and before you knew it, we were across town at the Derby Dolls All-Star game. And true to form, I could hear Sandra AKA "Tara Armov" Frame from across the parking lot.

She didn't get to play, and in a way it was a good thing. It was one of the most brutal nights I had seen there. Like a stock car race on a full moon night, it was just nuts. Gene Simmons was shooting his reality show there that night. Jeez. So after it was all said and done, I got Tara to pose with the grand embarrassment: Her mural that was painted on the rink wall. I think it's cool, actually.

Then I gave her a Trixie shirt Ilene sent over with instructions to get it dirty.

The next day, I showed up DJ and (once again here soon) author Steve Boyett's house. I arrived just in time for the Parrot Races, it looked like.

His wife The Queen wanted some lines, and Coop and I obliged Her Majesty.
That is, if there were going to be In-and-Out burgers.
Coop had one right away (big surprise there...),

pulled a few more lines....

and before you knew it, we were at it again.

it's what Coop was praying for. Another double-double, please, God. I swear I will be a good boy and not pick on Frank anymore.


Greg "Coop" Cooper. Body by In-and-Out Burger.

Well, the bike came out great, and The Queen loved it.

As for Coop and Steve, I just wonder sometimes.

That evening I met Steve for coffee and one of our now famous B.S sessions. The kind of sessions that become books, scripts or cartoons. The cell rang, and Sandra was on the line. We are so loud I often wonder why we even use our cell phones to call each other. Anyway, she got a call back to do some pick-ups for the TV show they were shooting at the Doll Factory. Apparently she was spending the day chasing Shannon Tweed around with a big stick. And she needed a break.
So we wound up at Denny's till late, listening to Mr. Boyett tell tales of his adventures back in the day in beautiful Downtown Burbank.


"And then he said...."

"And there was the time...."
"And that's how i got this"

OH, I guess he should have stopped there. Next day, it poured in the valley, so I stopped off at Dean Jeffries' place. We spent a few hours bench racing, and I took a look at his GT that finally got a coat of paint. It's been unpainted for soooo long, I almost didn't recognize it.

Then there was the '33 Ford with the signature Jeffries' flame job. WOW! Dean said it was all eyeballed with no transfer paper use on the other side.

And just look at the stripes, folks, Bea-u-ti-ful.

Dean said he hadn't gotten around to doing anything on his Mini. He said he was having too much fun driving it to stop and paint it.


The highlight for me was the water ski from back in the day.

BIG FAT JEFFRIES' STRIPES!

Top to bottom.

I really miss fat pin stripes, and this was just great to study.
We really did have a great time hanging out and shooting the breeze like we use to do back in the old days. Well, as you know, I can't leave the valley without a quick trip to Lido's Pizza with my cartoonist buddy Mike Kazaleh.


We pigged out on pizza and got caught up. Then I raced down to Bob Hope Airport and was back in Portland just in time to get layed off. Who knew? If I did, I would have stayed in the valley, painted some cars, visited more friends and looked for a gig. What do you think, Sandra?

Why do I even ask?